CameraIcon
CameraIcon
SearchIcon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

An astronaut is looking down on earth's surface from a space shuttle at an altitude of 400km. Assuming that the astronaut's pupil diameter is 5mm and the wavelength of visible light is500nm, the astronaut will be able to resolve linear objects of the size of about :


Open in App
Solution

Step 1: Given data

The aperture of the instrument: 5mm=5×10-3m

Distance of space shuttle from the earth: 400km=400×103m

Wavelength: 500nm=500×10-9m

Step 2: Formula used

To find the Resolving power, we will use the following formula:

ResolvingPower=1.22×λ.Dd

Where, d is the aperture/diameter of the instrument

D is the distance of the space shuttle from the earth.

λ is the wavelength.

Step 3: Find Resolving power

By substituting the given values in the above-mentioned formula, we get:

ResolvingPower=1.22×500×10-9×400×1035×10-3

ResolvingPower=1.22×10-210-3×4=1.22×10×4

ResolvingPower=1.22×40=48.8m50m

Thus, the astronaut will be able to resolve linear objects of the size of about 50m.


flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
0
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
Electromagnetic Spectrum
PHYSICS
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon